Home › Training, development & qualifications › Personal development › Qualifications

Level 7 Qualifications in Strategic Management and Leadership (QCF)

Who are these qualifications for?
The Level 7 qualifications in Strategic Management and Leadership are designed for directors and senior managers who have the authority and personal inspiration to translate organisational strategy into effective performance. These qualifications require directors and senior managers to build on their skills in strategic management and leadership and to focus on the requirements of inter-organisational strategy.

These qualifications are derived from the National Occupational Standards for Management and Leadership and are accredited on the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

What are the entry requirements?
CMI does not specify entry requirements for these qualifications, but Centres are required to ensure that learners admitted to the programme have sufficient capability at the right level to undertake the learning and assessment.

Flexible qualification structure
The Level 7 qualifications in Strategic Management and Leadership offer a highly flexible approach to learning. They allow the freedom and choice to select from the broad range of units available (see Centre Assessment Guidance for more details) allowing employers and individuals to tailor the size and elements of the qualifications to suit their specific needs.

The qualifications follow the new Award, Certificate, Diploma format where:

  • Award is a concise qualification aimed at developing basis skills and knowledge at this level
  • Certificate builds and broadens on the areas covered in the Award; and
  • Diploma develops a comprehensive range of skills and knowledge required at this level.

Award:
To achieve a CMI Level 7 Award in Strategic Management and Leadership, you need to successfully complete at least one unit to a minimum of 6 credits.

Certificate:
To achieve a CMI Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership you need to successfully complete any combination of units to a minimum of 13 credits.

Diploma:
To achieve a CMI Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership, you need to complete all core units (Group A) and three optional units (Group B) to a total of at least 66 credits.

How long will it take?
The time it takes to complete a qualification is dependent on the units you choose and delivery times and methods do vary from one Approved Centre to another.  However, as a guide:

  • The Award can take as little as 2-3 weeks
  • The Certificate can take between 1-3 months
  • The Diploma can take between 6 to 12 months

How are these qualifications assessed?
Assessment is normally via practical work-based assignments provided by your Approved Centre.  This ensures you minimise time away from work and that you undertake work study which is relevant to your own organisation’s context.

What support will I get?
In addition to the support you will receive from your Centre, CMI provides a unique and comprehensive package of candidate support, with access to:

Progression opportunities
On successful completion of a Level 7 qualification in Strategic Management and Leadership, a number of progression opportunities become available:

  • Enhance your professional status by upgrading your CMI membership
  • Progress to other qualifications at the same level (e.g. from Level 7 Award to Level 7 Certificate etc)
  • Progress to other qualifications at the next level (e.g. from Level 7 Certificate to Level 8 Certificate)
  • Apply to become a Chartered Manager.

Next steps
Find out where your nearest CMI Approved Centre is and register for this qualification.
 
Download
To download a copy of the Centre Assessment Guidance for these qualifications, click here.